Sympathizer: Stone of Attamon
by t.j.guard
Summary: A slightly AU retelling of The Little Vampire. Tony thinks he's just a weird American kid having a hard time settling into life in Scotland, but little does he know that his dreams and compulsions are the signals that he's about to embark on his first quest as a vampire sympathizer.
1. Chapter 1

Sympathizer: The Stone of Attamon

Disclaimer: I don't own The Little Vampire.

A/N: A retelling of The Little Vampire where some plotholes are filled in, Tony's visions and sympathy are explained and expanded upon, loose ends are tied up, and Gregory is given a personality beyond just "BLOOD!". Slightly AU as a result.

Chapter One

"_Ab ovo, in toto, nil desperandum, sine die._" The words rang through the air, carried on the voice of one accustomed to authority. Tony couldn't help but feel awestruck as he listened and watched. The expectation settled heavily on his skin as he waited in rapt attention, just like the vampires around him. A beam of red light shot from the comet in conjunction with the moon, and a cheer rang up through the crowd. This was it. They would finally have what they always wanted.

But their joy was cut short with a single cry through the darkness: "Vampires!" The vampires all turned to face the intruder, causing the leader to break the link between the amulet and the comet. The hunter approached on his carriage with its flaming cross, and as he and the head vampire began to square off, he produced a stick. With a flick of his wrist, two arms popped out, forming a two-fold cross. The vampire recoiled but joined the fight nonetheless. "Give me that stone," the hunter growled. The struggle devolved into the vampire trying to do just the opposite while keeping the crosses away from his face.

"Keep hold of it!" another vampire yelled. "Don't let go." This one, Tony thought, as he'd done every night since he'd first moved into this bedroom, but he could never figure out why.

The struggle continued, and the clan watched in horror and anticipation and dread. Tony wanted to bite his nails clean off.

Finally, the stone was dislodged from its place in the amulet and sent flying over the edge of the cliff into the sea. The clan shared a collective gasp of terror. The one with the tenor voice, whom Tony felt at once he should know, watched the stone sail in its arc to land in the water with a soft plink. Then, he made his move. He bolted, heedless of the others or the vampire hunter, over the edge of the cliff.

Here Tony found himself back in his own bed, floating in the water, staring up at the vampire diving for him. It was as if he'd forgotten everything he experienced up to that point, and now he was firmly convinced that this vampire, just like any other he might ever encounter, wanted to drain him dry. Instinctively, he pulled the bedspread over his head.

TLV

Tony waited for a moment before peeking out from under the covers. The storm was still raging outside. The sight of his stuffed monkey startled him for a moment until a lightning flash revealed it to be exactly what it was, but the following thunderclap drove him in terror from his room and down the hall to where his parents slept. He burst through the door and tripped over a half-empty suitcase. "Hon?" Dottie asked loudly as she and Bob both sat up.

"What?" Bob added breathlessly before reaching over to turn on the light. Dottie removed her face mask.

"You have another nightmare?" Dottie asked as Tony got to his feet.

"The vampires were back," Tony replied.

"Oh, this is ridiculous," Bob said with a sigh. Tony walked over to his mom's side of the bed and climbed in. "I've gotta get some sleep." Bob switched the lamp back off, and all three of them tried to get settled as the wind howled through the open window, waving the light curtains.

"Mom, do you like this place?"

"It's a big change for you, I know. New house, new country."

A haunting wail from outside prompted Tony to ask, "Hear that?"

"It's the wind," Bob replied.

"Or the undead." A bat chirped outside, accompanied by a frantic flutter of wings. "Mom? Dad?"

"Tony, if I don't get some sleep, then I'll be one of the undead." Tony closed his eyes and settled into his mother's embrace, trying to think of something other than the thoughts haunting his mind.

TLV

It was a song on little bat wings, and the vampire who'd just started circling the castle knew it well. He took off almost at once and picked a course almost at random. His sudden actions had been noticed by someone inside, but he had no time for that. Not now. Instinctively he flew as fast as he could. Desperation and dread started to build within him, but he forced them away. He had to find somewhere safe for a vampire to hide, and for that he needed a clear head. He could worry about the rest of the particulars later.

Because on little bat wings, his brother had sent him a warning signal.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Hey, wave hi to Dad and Lord McAshton," Dottie said as she reached over the steering wheel to lead by example. Bob waved back, and Lord McAshton touched his hat in response. Tony simply stared out the window at the scenery passing him by on his way to school. "Scotland is beautiful, isn't it?"

"If you don't have vampires," Tony replied, his fear and mixed emotions about it seeping into his statement.

"You know we really don't, right? That a dream isn't real."

"I know what a dream is, Mom," Tony snapped.

"Okay, I'm just asking," Dottie shot back. "But you know, there is no such thing as vampires, ri-"

"Mom!" Tony shouted suddenly. "You're on the wrong side of the road!" Dottie looked up, cried out, and swerved aside just before she could collide with the tractor but not soon enough to avoid the farmer's wrath. "What did he say?" she asked.

Tony slumped in his seat. "Everybody talks weird here."

"Don't worry, honey. Things are gonna get better. You're gonna meet some new friends here soon." Yeah, right, Tony thought as he slouched even further in his seat. All he could see in his future was the McAshton boys and a crowd of their chanting supporters.

TLV

"Fight, fight, fight, fight," the kids chanted, clapping, as Nigel McAshton, the elder of the two brothers, shoved Tony to the ground.

"This is for bein' a little creep," Nigel hissed. The bell rang, and the McAshton boys drug his bag along for the ride before Nigel dumped out its contents. "And this, is for coming here in the first place," he added. Flint gave the contents of Tony's bag a kick, but thankfully neither boy seemed interested in actually looking through what they had mixed up. Tony had enough problems as it was. He pulled himself to his feet, got his books and papers in order, put them back in his bag, and walked into Mr. Boggins's class five minutes late.

Mr. Boggins, a balding man in an unremarkable suit, gave Tony a pointed look, but Tony took his seat quietly, allowing him to continue his lecture on the properties of comets in relative peace. "I bring this up because on Saturday night, we'll be able to see Comet Forsey in conjunction with the moon, for the first time in three hundred years," he said enthusiastically, labeling the moon as he spoke and then turning to face the class. "And then-"

Tony felt the sudden and very powerful urge to speak up, in spite of his aversion to drawing attention to himself at that point. "And then a beam of light comes from the moon." The other students started chuckling.

"As usual our American friend is full of stories. What makes you say that?"

"I dreamt it."

"Stupid Yank," Nigel muttered as more kids started laughing.

"Fine, now you've had your joke," Mr. Boggins said as he went back to his chalkboard.

"No," Tony said firmly, his compulsion growing stronger. "I've dreamt it every night since I've been here. And then there's a gathering."

Mr. Boggins shrugged, now completely helpless and edging on annoyance. "A gathering of what?"

"A gathering of vampires."

Now everyone was laughing. "Not again, Tony," Mr. Boggins said with a sigh.

"I really saw it," he said forcefully, just to silence everyone. "The comet, the beam of light, the vampires, and the vampire hunter."

The laughter resumed, and Mr. Boggins decided he had enough. "Alright, that's it. You've earned yourself a chair in the hall."

"Fly away back to California, creep," Nigel jeered as Tony got to his feet and left the classroom.

TLV

It didn't make any sense. There was no reason at all why he should have said anything. If he had any sense at all, he'd have kept his mouth shut, but that stupid compulsion of his forced him to put more fuel on the fire that would one day be used to burn him alive. Tony slouched deeper into the desk chair, hoping against hope that he wouldn't have any more bizarre compulsions that would just dig his hole even deeper.

Finally Mr. Boggins stepped out of his classroom. "Tony," he said softly, "I'm worried for you."

"No you're not," Tony replied. "You're just saying that."

Mr. Boggins sighed and continued anyway. "I've called your parents and the dean, and they've both decided that it would be best for you if you weren't to come to school tomorrow." Normally a kid like Tony would've been thrilled at the prospect, but Tony himself knew exactly what it meant: they thought he was a head case and shouldn't be involved with the general school population.

"Maybe you're right," he said dejectedly.

"Now come on. Your mother's waiting for you." Without a word, Tony got to his feet, slung his bag over his shoulder, and allowed his teacher to lead him outside to the school parking lot.

"You know why we're doing this, don't you, hon?" Dottie asked as Tony climbed into the passenger seat and she started the car.

"Yeah," Tony replied softly. "As soon as I get settled in, this'll all go away." He repeated almost word for word what he'd overheard his father say once. "I'm not crazy."

"I know." Tony gave a slight nod and then turned to stare out the window. At least he couldn't make an idiot of himself in front of his peers for a couple of days.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Bob set up carefully and leaned over a bit more than he normally would to accommodate the size of the club he was now holding, and he eased the door open. Tony was currently hunched over whatever he was drawing, so he hardly noticed. Bob tapped the ball just enough to set it rolling across the floor and into Tony's shoe. Tony glanced down at the golf ball and then looked up at his father. "Look what I got you," he said, holding up the club and walking into the room.

"A golf club," Tony cheered.

"Yeah. A junior set of golf clubs," Bob corrected, holding up the caddy he'd been carrying behind his back. "Y'know, the game was invented in Scotland."

Tony glanced at the club, and his face fell. "But there's no one to play with."

"That's the beauty of golf. You don't need anyone to play with."

"But I want someone to play with."

"Well, then, I'll teach you."

"You never have time."

"Oh, look, Tony. I'm tryin' here."

"There you are," Dottie said as she walked in with Bob's coat. "Babysitter's downstairs," she added, helping him into it.

"Oh, good," Bob replied.

"When're you gonna be back?" Tony asked.

"Not too late, hon," Dottie replied.

"It's business. Lord McAshton invited us. All the investors are gonna be there," Bob explained, as if it made perfect sense.

Dottie's eye, however, was caught by Tony's collection of drawings. "Hey, look at those," she said. "Those are great. I didn't know you could draw so good."

Bob picked up a picture of two vampires flanking a couple of bats and then put it back down. "Right, great," he said, turning away. "Y'know, you wanna do something really cool, draw me a picture of Tiger Woods." Bob walked out of the room, and Tony watched him leave.

Dottie wrapped him in a tight hug. "Goodnight, hon," she said. "I want you in bed by nine, and don't give yourself any nightmares." She kissed him on the cheek and followed her husband out of the room. "Be a good boy," she added as she left.

TLV

The vampire shifted in his perch, stirred just slightly before sunset by the sensation of someone prodding around in his thoughts. He mentally groaned and asked, What do you want?

I tried to warn you, the intruder replied.

I fled, didn't I?

You did, but now you'll be lucky if you get back home in time. Our parents are worried sick.

Tell them you know I'm alive.

Yes, but how long is that going to last?

I'll fly home as soon as it's safe. Promise.

You'd better.

His brother left him, and he tried to get just a few more minutes of sleep before sunset.

TLV

The alarm clock cut through Rookery's sleep-induced haze just enough to allow him to grab a cigar, shut it off, and pull himself into full alertness on his own. He still had three days before those bloodsucking fiends had a shot at humanity, which was three nights for him to make sure that never happened.

He climbed into the driver's seat, started the truck, checked the lights and tracking equipment, and lit his cigar. And like a man on a mission, he drove out of the forest toward the cemetery.

TLV

The vampire eased out of his small shelter almost immediately after the sun had set, and when he took flight, he was greeted by a light breeze of a tailwind. This was surely a good omen, he figured, and he plotted a course for home.

TLV

Bagpipe music filtered through the air as Bob and Dottie approached Lord McAshton, who was greeting his guests personally. "Lord McAshton," Bob said, holding out his hand.

"Bob," the lord replied, shaking his hand, "and Dottie," he added, shaking hers as well. Dottie made an effort to correct his pronunciation, to which he replied, "Of course it is. What do you think of our blimp?"

"Oh, I like the blimp," Bob replied.

"Me, too." But almost before he finished the thought, he was greeting another guest.

"He likes my blimp," Bob said as they walked inside, staring up at the blimp which proudly proclaimed: "McAshton Golf Resort."

TLV

The vampire landed in the center of a small stone arch which was slowly but surely falling apart. Too late did he spot the behemoth of a truck parked just feet from where he'd perched. He could see the man inside watching him intently, and before he knew it, a beam of light struck him where he perched. He shrieked and took off. "Got you now, you filthy thing," the man growled. "Let the chase begin."

The truck gave chase, and the light struck him again. He couldn't help but screech. Did it have to hurt so bloody much? This continued several more times, and if not for the desperation to escape, he would've dropped for weariness. Spotting a wooden gate up ahead, he hatched a quick little plan and slipped over it, praying fervently to whatever deity still listened to vampires that the man with the light would follow. He could hear the truck crash through the gate and topple a wooden trough, and mercifully the driver was too focused on these distractions to continue torturing him. Sick with relief, the vampire sniffed out the area and chose the shortest path between him and food.

Oddly enough, that path led him right past the house he'd started to case the previous night, and through an open window he happened to glance a boy in a cape that didn't go at all with the rest of his outfit chanting, "_Ab ovo, in toto,_" as if it were the most important phrase he knew. But the boy had fangs and food. This place houses vampires, he thought with a thrill of hope. Maybe this one could spare some food and has heard tell of the stone. Given some fresh strength at these prospects, the vampire flew through the window.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Tony looked up at once from his game. He turned and carefully approached the window, setting the ketchup bottle on the desk. Then the second disturbance came, this time from behind him, and he turned just in time to see a bat fly into his fireplace. Moments later, there was a flash of light. Tony gasped and approached perhaps more slowly than he had the window. Not quite sure what he was hearing, he waited until he was in full view of the fireplace and watched a boy tap the back of his head. His nose, as if made of rubber or plastic, popped back into perfect form. The boy looked up at him and asked, "What clan...are you from, brother, and have the lights gone?"

Tony couldn't help but stutter, "Wh-wh-who are you?" as he flicked his paper fangs out of his mouth with his tongue.

It took a moment for this to sink in, it seemed, but when it did, the boy bared his fangs and hissed, "You are not a brother."

"Well, I'm not a sister," Tony said in an attempt to mitigate the situation.

"You're human. You're full of blood." The vampire hissed.

"Gonna keep it that way, dude," Tony replied as he bolted for the door. But the vampire beat him to it, suspending himself upside down on all fours on its surface. Tony turned and made for the window, but before the vampire could follow, he slipped and fell onto his back on the floor. Tony, for a reason he couldn't quite understand, stood and approached.

"I'm too weak," the vampire mumbled.

"I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid," Tony chanted under his breath, remembering the terror that gripped him at the end of each and every one of his nightmares. Louder, he asked, "Do you need help?" He knelt beside the vampire and wiped the ketchup off with the back of his sleeve.

The vampire turned his head slowly to look at Tony. "What twisted kind of mortal are you?"

"I know you. I saw you in my dream."

"Must've been a nightmare."

Tony nodded. "It was." After all, that was what he'd been told to say.

"I must leave."

"But you can't even walk." Tony moved to help the vampire boy to his feet, but the boy shook him off.

"Who needs to walk, when I can fly?" the vampire asked, moving to the window and leaping off the balcony, only to hover for a moment and then plummet face-first to the ground. Tony ran first to the balcony to assess his position, and then to the stairway leading to the front door, where he quietly slipped past his babysitter, watching some soap opera or another and munching on popcorn.

He ran around back to where the vampire lay and asked, "Are you okay?"

Do I look it? the vampire asked with his mind, momentarily too dazed and weak to make his lips move. Right then the truck drove past, its spotlight swinging in all directions. The vampire shifted to shield his eyes and gasped, "Rookery." The truck passed, and the vampire pushed himself onto his knees. "Do you...do you know...where I can get a cow?" he asked Tony.

"If you want a glass of milk-"

"No, not milk. A cow. Hurry." Tony looked around, feeling the vampire's need for a solution to this predicament. It looked like he was about to drop dead-again-and Tony, regardless of his reasons, was not about to let that happen. So he found his Red Wagon and helped the vampire inside, and then he set off toward the nearest farm.

TLV

Rookery parked just outside of a barn and settled into his seat. That pesky little demon may have gotten away from him that time, but not without a fight, and unless it was going to break pattern, it'll show up at this very barn looking for food. And when it decided to show up and pick a fight, he'd be ready. Oh, he'd be ready.

TLV

Tony helped support the vampire boy as he held up two of his fingers and fixed his gaze on the cow. "Your eyes are getting heavy," he whispered. "You're falling into a deep sleep." Tony couldn't help but wonder if he actually had the power to pull it off, but the vampire was either quite confident in his abilities, desperate, or both, because he walked over to the cow's neck and dug his fangs in deep.

"Oh, ugh," Tony groaned, turning away from the vampire and cringing at the slurping sounds he made. "Oh, I think I'm gonna hurl." So, for want of air, he walked outside toward the street, where a rhythmic beeping drew his attention to a behemoth of a truck stationed just feet away.

TLV

Rookery watched a boy walk out into the street and stand there, staring at the truck. "Aww, it's just a little one," he sneered. "Well, let's see how you like this." He switched on the spotlight to full power, then turned on his headlights and every other light mounted on his truck. The boy shielded his eyes but seemed otherwise unaffected. "So, that's not enough for you, eh?" Rookery put the truck into drive and advanced on the boy.

TLV

The vampire sensed it at once. The boy outside, Tony, was calling for help, whether he realized it or not. He abandoned his meal right then and went for the door, and he narrowed his eyes. Rookery was charging an innocent mortal, knowing full well that the boy would die. For a moment, he wanted to tear Rookery's heart out and show it to him, but Tony still needed him.

Tony screamed, and the vampire rushed into action, shouting, "Shut your eyes, Tony," as he picked the boy up by the waist and took off. He clutched the mortal to his chest and tried to think soothing thoughts as he heard the hunter far below. "Oh, you're very clever, but I'll catch you!" Same old song and dance, he thought as he scanned the sky for a safe place to put Tony. And to think, all he wanted to do was go home.

He spotted a blimp tethered to the earth near a castle, more than big enough to hold the two of them, and gently he set Tony down and sat next to him. "You can open your eyes now."

Tony hesitated a moment but complied. "Wow," he gasped, his eyes roaming over all they saw, trying to absorb everything.

"Enjoying the view?"

"Yeah, and thanks, dude. You saved my life. That truck was gonna splatter me."

"You keep calling me dude. My name's Rudolph."

"Dude is slang." Ah, now it made sense. "Like you call a friend."

"Friend?"

"Well, we saved each other's lives, didn't we?" Tony asked, holding out his hand.

That certainly qualified. "Yes, we did. Friends." They shook on it.

"My name's Tony. C'mon, let's play."

"Yes, we play."

Tony pulled himself to his feet and started jumping up and down on the blimp, and Rudolph tilted his head to one side. "My best friend's a vampire!" Tony cheered, giving Rudolph cause to wonder at exactly what kind of life this boy led. But if he insisted, he thought with a shrug, and he started jumping, as well. As pointless as it was, it was actually kind of fun, and he found himself laughing along.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Finally Tony tired himself out and collapsed onto the surface of the blimp. "Rudolph, how do we get down from here?" he asked breathlessly.

"We'll fly," Rudolph replied. Tony was starting to sense a pattern of people stating things which made no sense as if everyone knew them.

"But I can't fly."

"I got you up here, didn't I?"

"Well, I guess so."

"Then stay calm, friend." Rudolph smiled. The connotation Tony attached to the word was a bit foreign, but Rudolph didn't mind too much. "Alright, let's fly." He straightened and held out his hand. "As long as I'm holding on to you, you're fine. Trust me." Tony took his hand. "Ready?" And with that, Rudolph took off.

Tony gasped. "I'm flying," he said. "Whoa!" Rudolph couldn't help but smile. He was like that once, long, long ago, and it warmed his heart to see that it was still possible. "Wow, it's great to be a vampire."

"Membership does have its privileges," Rudolph confessed.

"Look," Tony said, pointing to a castle below and to the left of them. "My mom and dad went to a party there."

"Oh, did they? I certainly hope they didn't leave you alone."

"Oh, no. I have a babysitter."

"Good thing you decided to go home, then," Rudolph said with a smile.

"Yeah, good thing."

TLV

In the middle of small talk with Lord McAshton and another important investor Bob was trying to remember the name (and pronunciation) thereof, Bob's cell phone rang. "I'm terribly sorry, excuse me," he said, and he stepped aside to take the call.

"Mr. Thompson," the babysitter said, frantic. "I'm so sorry to bother you, but I didn't know what else to do."

"What?" Bob asked.

"He's not here and I've looked everywhere." The babysitter started to stutter.

"No, I can't understand you. Say it again. In English. Slowly."

"Come...come back with Mrs. Thompson. Help me find him."

"Wait, Tony's gone?"

"Yes. Just vanished. Right under my nose."

"We'll be right home." Bob hung up and turned to Dottie and then to Lord McAshton. "We are terribly sorry, but we've got to get home right away."

The lord nodded. "Oh, of course, of course."

"Thank you," Bob said, and he and Dottie made their way to the front door without another word. As Lord McAshton watched them go, oddly, he had his on suspicion about what had happened to this lad Tony.

TLV

"Vampires are different than I thought they'd be," Tony said, but was he thinking of the dreams or the horror movies, the Halloween costumes, and everything else that told him his dreams should be nightmares.

"Father's seen to that," Rudolph replied. "We're family, not fiends. That's why we only try to drink cow's blood."

"But I thought vampires drank human blood."

"We do, but we've got to make due with cows."

"Why?"

"Because we've been hunted for centuries. We always have to hide. We want to become humans, not eat them for dinner." Tony wanted to say he had no idea that was possible, but then he remembered the ceremony the vampires in his dream were trying to undergo. Besides, he'd found a different question to ask of his new-found friend.

"Do you see what color that car is?"

"Green," Rudolph replied. "Man and woman inside, man talking very loudly and...waving his hands."

"Oh, no. My parents! I'm in a lot of trouble. My dad's gonna kill me."

"Can't have that," Rudolph said, tracking the car for a bit with his eyes before turning to follow it.

"Think we can beat them home?"

"Oh, yes, but you'll have to be very careful. Now listen to me..."

TLV

"He wasn't like this at home," Bob said as he got out of the car.

"This is Scotland, not San Diego," Dottie replied, still failing to understand what kept her husband from making the effort with their son. "What do you expect? He's an eight-year-old kid."

"Oh, Mr. Thompson, Mrs. Thompson, been waitin' on you comin' back," the babysitter said as she greeted the Thompsons at the door. She then proceeded to explain exactly what happened so far as she understood it, but Dottie was already calling for her son and rushing up to his room, Bob at her heels. They burst through the door, and all three of them fell silent. Tony was in bed, asleep. The babysitter especially couldn't believe her eyes. "I saw what I saw and I saw what I didn't see, and I...I didn't see him," she muttered.

Bob sniffed the air, picking up on a strange scent. "What's that?" he asked.

"I smell it too," Dottie added after a couple sniffs. Bob walked over and closed the window, and Dottie bent over to place a kiss on Tony's forehead. Deciding she was going insane, the babysitter followed the parents out of the room.

TLV

Tony opened his eyes slightly and looked up at Rudolph, tucked safely into a corner on the ceiling, who pressed his finger to his lips. Dottie looked back at him, but he'd closed his eyes just in time. The door closed, Tony got out of bed and put on his glasses, and Rudolph leapt down from his nook. "So, are those your parents? They look nice," he said.

"And tasty?" Tony asked, untying his vampire cape.

"No, nice. As in, very nice."

Tony nodded. "They have their moments." Rudolph sensed a touchy subject and decided to drop it.

"Suppose I must take my leave," he said, walking over to the window. He paused, then turned back to Tony. "I haven't had this much fun with a boy my own age, since I really was nine. Thanks, dude." He smiled and waved, and he turned to go again.

"You can stay if you want," Tony said.

Rudolph stared out the window a moment, at Rookery's passing truck, and then turned back to Tony. "Maybe I should."

"Do vampires only sleep in coffins? 'Cuz that's gonna be a problem."

"Just so long as the sun can't find me." Rudolph walked over to Tony's chest. "This would be excellent." He opened the chest, and Tony leaned over and stared at the trunk's contents.

"I have to take out all this junk."

"Junk? It's a treasure chest." Rudolph selected an object from the chest. "I've hidden in trees and watched mortals play this game. What is it?"

"Nintendo, duh!"

"Nintendo duh. Can I play with this Nintendo duh?"

"It's Nintendo. Duh's just a word people say when someone asks a dumb question," Tony explained as Rudolph started removing the items from the chest.

"Duh," Rudolph said as he reached for something else.

"More like, Duh," Tony corrected, adding snark to his intonation.

Rudolph stood. "Duh."

"Du-uh," Tony sang.

Rudolph turned his gaze to a corner and said thoughtfully, "Duh."

"I'll teach you Nintendo tomorrow."

"I know. You must sleep now. It's late for mortals." Tony took one of his pillows and put it in the chest as Rudolph stepped inside. Rudolph lay down and said, "Until the night."

"Good night," Tony replied, closing the lid on top of him and tapping it. He made to change and get into bed as he normally did, but he thought better of it. Instead, after he changed, he crawled into bed with his head at the foot, the better to converse with Rudolph. "So you're, like, a thousand years old or something, right?" he asked, remembering the vampires in the movies.

"I've just been nine for over three hundred years," Rudolph replied.

"I wanna be a vampire, too."

"No, you don't know what that means."

"Yeah, doing the most awesome stuff I've ever done in my life."

"No blue skies, Tony. No birds singing, no flowers in the sunlight. Just this constant night."

"Cool."

"Tony?" Rudolph asked. His voice cracked terribly.

"Yeah?"

But whatever Rudolph wanted to say, clearly he thought better of it, indicated by a pained sigh and an audible shift of position. "Try to sleep now," he said softly. "For tonight, you're still mortal, and this is when mortals get their much-needed rest."

"Okay," Tony replied, and he turned his head to one side and closed his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

You said you were going to fly straight home, Rudolph's brother snapped as soon as he had an opportunity to invade his thoughts.

Leave me alone, Gregory, Rudolph replied, closing his eyes and turning his head to the chest wall farthest from Tony. I'm not in the mood.

But clearly you're in the mood to worry us all sick.

I had stuff to do, he mentally shouted. It's not like I could leave someone to die after they've saved my life.

Rudolph, what the bloody hell have you been up to?

Running from Rookery. That's what I've been up to. Rudolph could practically feel Gregory's sigh, and for a moment, he wanted more than anything to be back in his brother's company. I'll come home first thing tomorrow night, he said. I swear it.

Thank you, Rudolph.

TLV

Dottie threw open the curtains of Tony's room with a cheery "Good morning," and then walked over to his bed. "Now, why are you sleeping this way?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. She moved to sit next to him. "Did you have another nightmare last night?"

"Yeah," Tony replied automatically.

"Aww, poor baby." Dottie kissed his forehead.

"No," Tony said emphatically in an effort to rectify the situation. "I dreamt I was...flying."

"You did? That's wonderful. That's a good kind of dream to have. Now come on," she added, pulling the covers back and rising to her feet. "Get up. Rise and shine. Time to go to school."

"I don't have school today, remember?" Tony said, sitting up.

Dottie stopped in the doorway and turned to face him. "That's right. Today's the day you get to go golfing with Dad."

"Yeah."

"Anyway, get dressed. Big day ahead." Dottie turned and walked out of the room, and Tony climbed out of bed and walked over to the chest, opening it gently.

Rudolph hissed from within and cried out, "The sun!"

"Sorry, dude," Tony replied, closing the chest again.

"You hungry?" Dottie called from the kitchen.

"I could eat a cow!"

TLV

"Nice, easy stroke," Bob said as he helped Tony set up. Tony's little incident at school had one silver lining: it gave Bob the chance to spend much-needed quality time with his son. He straightened and walked over to the hole. "Okay, give it a shot." Tony tapped the ball gently, and it missed the hole by just a few inches. Bob lifted his foot to allow the ball to finish its course. "Alright, pretty good."

"When does the sun go down?" Tony asked, walking over to Bob.

"Er, not for a while."

"But I need to be home before it sets." Bob tapped his ball, and it stopped just short of the hole. He walked over to give it another tap.

"What's the big hurry? Bored already?"

"No. I know what you've been thinking about me."

Bob plucked the golf ball from the hole and walked over to Tony. "Oh, Tony. I'm sorry I've been so rough on you lately. I got this job on one hand and this thing at school-"

"I know."

"Yeah."

"Dad, do you think I'm crazy?"

"Oh, no," Bob said emphatically, squatting so that he was eye level with his son. "I just think that vampires belong in a movie somewhere and not in your room."

"How'd you know he was in my room?" Tony asked. He seemed genuinely surprised by this, which surprised Bob in turn, and he could do nothing but give the boy a quizzical look. "Kidding," Tony said. "Not very funny, right?"

Bob considered this a minute and then smiled and nodded. "Kind of funny."

"Let's play golf."

"Okay, that's the spirit. Let's set up again." Bob straightened, and they took their positions around the golf ball.

TLV

Just as he had the night before, Rudolph stirred just a little bit before sunset, but this time, he didn't try to catch an extra little bit of sleep. He had an oath to keep. He eased open the chest and looked around the room, and finding it empty, he slipped out and walked over to the desk. It was covered in marker drawings featuring such various but thematically unified subjects as bats, vampires, and blood, but his eyes landed on one drawing in particular, and he gasped, a thrill of hope rushing through him the likes of which he hadn't felt in hundreds of years. That's it, he thought, picking up a drawing of a roughly oblong amulet with a red center stone. That's it. It has to be.

He set the drawing down again and transformed into a bat, flying out the window just as the last rays of sun faded from the sky.

TLV

Gregory leaned back against a giant columnar headstone which was missing a large chunk of its top half, and he stared up as a small bat flew toward him. In a flash, his brother floated down from the sky, landing gently on the earth so as not to draw the attention of the caretaker. "I can't stay long," he said at once. "There's something I have to check out. It's about the stone."

"What is it?" Gregory asked.

"I think I've found someone who knows where it is."

"Are you sure?"

"No. That's why I have to go back."

Gregory lowered his arms and taking a step toward his brother. "If you find us that stone, then at least one of Father's sons is good for something."

"Don't _say_ things like that."

"Go." Rudolph nodded, turned back into a bat, and went back the way he had come. Almost forcefully, Gregory tore his eyes from his brother, shifted form, and started flying back to the rest of his family, already rehearsing the story he would tell his parents about where he'd been for the past fifteen minutes.

TLV

Tony ran through the front door and over to the stairwell at the first available opportunity, ignoring questions from both of his parents in his desperate bid to get up to his room before Rudolph could go anywhere. He burst through his door and almost slid over to his trunk, popping the locks and then pushing the lid open.

The only thing in the trunk was a pillow.

Tony closed the lid and then sat on top of it with a heavy sigh. Feeling truly empty for the first time in his life, all he could do was turn his gaze to the open window and stare at the curtains moving softly in the gentle breeze. He should've known it was too good to be true, and now Rudolph was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Tony was startled awake from perhaps his most peaceful sleep in weeks by the sound of someone landing in his room. "Psst," the intruder said. He groaned, "What?" then reached for his glasses, put them on, and sat up. "Rudolph," he gasped, breaking into a grin at the sight of someone he quite frankly thought he'd never see again. Rudolph approached, then walked back to the desk and picked up a piece of paper before walking back over to Tony. "Can we go flying again?"

"No, it's too dangerous," Rudolph replied, taking a seat on the edge of Tony's bed. "I only came because of this." He held up the drawing of the amulet.

"My drawing? You can have it."

"Where have you seen it?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

"It's very important."

"I'll only tell you if you take me flying again."

Rudolph rolled his eyes and sighed. "Very well," he said, standing and setting the drawing on the nightstand. "You drive a hard bargain, mortal, but I accept your terms. Now come on, change into something warm. It's a bit chilly tonight."

TLV

"Yippee!" Tony cheered, adding a "Whoa!" as Rudolph banked slightly left. Much as Rudolph hated to drag Tony any deeper into this, put his life at risk yet again, or reveal his potential source to anyone, let alone his parents, before it panned out into anything useful, Rudolph couldn't help but derive some pleasure from Tony's sheer joy.

He pointed to a spot on the ground. "We live down there," he explained.

"Cemetery. Cool."

Rudolph scanned the ground a bit before bringing Tony in for a landing. "Alright, I've lived up to my end. Your turn."

"I dreamt about it," Tony said as he started walking down a dirt path. Rudolph fell into step beside him. "There's a gathering of vampires, and they're holding a ceremony, and then a vampire hunter shows up and ruins it-" Rudolph smiled at this. "-and then an amulet falls into the ocean and one of the vampires tries to catch it."

"So you didn't see the real thing, then," Rudolph said, for his own sake, as he took a seat on a crumbling headstone. Tony sat next to him.

"Nope. It was all a dream: the amulet, the comet... Does it mean something?"

Rudolph shook his head. This was destined to be a night full of risk, apparently. "I can't say. It's a secret."

"Who am I gonna tell?" Tony asked dejectedly. "Who's gonna believe me?"

Rudolph pondered this a moment and the nodded. "Alright. It is the Comet Attamon." He and Tony both looked up at the comet in question, a streak of light red against a royal blue, star-filled sky partially concealed by clouds. "It is the Comet of the Lost Souls. It could mean the end of this curse."

"What curse?"

"The curse of being a vampire." Tony still didn't understand, but what could Rudolph expect? The kid actually was nine. "It is a piece of the comet which fell to Earth. A great magician made it into an amulet of power, and we lost it, three hundred years ago to the sea."

"Yes, yes, I saw it!"

"And my uncle Von tried to catch it, and we've never seen him since. From that night to this, our wandering has never ended."

"I'll help you find it," Tony said, resting his hand on Rudolph's shoulder. "That must be what my dream really means."

"Yes," Rudolph replied, clapping Tony lightly on the shoulder. "You're to join our quest. We'll truly be brothers now." Bat screeches filled the air, and Rudolph and Tony looked up. A heavy ball settled into the pit of Rudolph's stomach, and he turned urgently to Tony. "Hide. My parents are coming."

"But we're brothers."

"They don't know that! Go!" So Tony ran and ducked behind a randomly chosen headstone, and Rudolph turned his gaze skyward and waited for the arrival of his family.

The first to shift out of their bat forms were his parents, Frederick and Freda. "Mama, Papa," Rudolph cheered, approaching them.

"Rudolph," Freda replied, enfolding him in a hug. "Thank the stars you're safe."

Frederick took Rudolph by the shoulder and added, "My son, you must not stray so far away again."

"We were afraid."

"I was only taking a road less traveled," Rudolph said.

"You got lost, my poor Rudolph."

"Yoo-hoo," called a young girl.

"Anna!"

"Brother darling!" She, too, enfolded Rudolph in an embrace. "You're the nervy one, sneaking off like some Daywalker." Rudolph could feel his father's displeasure with the statement at once.

"I wish," he said amiably, and he turned back to his father. "So, Father, did you find the stone?"

"No, but I'm sure we're on the right path."

"Because-"

"We still have forty-eight hours."

"But you see that's-"

"I will not fail you."

"Gregory," Freda called.

Tony turned at the sound of a snarl behind him, to come face to face with a boy of thirteen, whom Tony almost didn't think was related to the other vampires, based on his choice in clothes. The boy rushed him, still snarling, forcing Tony to flee into full view of the vampire family.

"No, Gregory! He's my friend!" Rudolph said, putting both hands on his brother's chest to stop him.

"A mortal," Frederick hissed, rushing Tony for a few paces. Tony turned and then backed up, seeking Rudolph's protection.

"I-I'm Rudolph's friend," he managed, "and he gave me a bite-proof guarantee." That's the first time I've heard that one, Rudolph thought.

Frederick stuck two fingers under Tony's chin and lifted him effortlessly off the ground, moving slowly for effect. "You could be anything to my son: victimizer, slave, dinner, perhaps, but you could never be his friend."

"He likes vampires, and he dreams about us," Rudolph said.

"Am I in your dreams, mortal?" Anna asked, fanning herself. Gregory stared for a moment, publishing his thought of the moment for all the clan's minds to read: First my brother and now this?

"And he knows about the amulet," Rudolph continued.

"Ah. Then he's a spy, Rookery's knave." Gregory made a show of punching his palm. If he couldn't sink his teeth into the boy, then he was certainly going to let his fists do the talking.

Freda took action, using just a hint of her influence on Frederick as he set Tony down and mixing it brilliantly with tone and words. "Darling, he doesn't look like a spy," she said softly, slowly. Tony popped his neck. "And besides, even Rudolph couldn't make up such a story. Could you, sweetheart?" she asked. Rudolph put on his most innocent expression and shook his head. Anything for a good cause. "Mortal or not, he's just a boy," Freda continued, taking Frederick's hand and kissing it, "but if you insist on eating him, go ahead."

"I never said I would." Frederick looked back at Tony. "It's impossible," he said with a shudder. Oh, how he wanted to, regardless of what anyone said to change his mind. "Leave, I say."

"But Rudolph-"

"Should never have befriended you. Leave, I say." He hissed. Tony cried out and took off screaming toward the edge of the cemetery. But he never made it that far. When he stopped to look for a path, he stopped just in time to watch a man step into view, a man he vaguely recognized from behind the windshield glass of a giant, light-covered truck. "Rookery!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"Get back! Get back!" Frederick urged as Rookery fired a stake into the cemetery. "Go. Take the family," he urged his wife. "Run! Do as I say!" He turned to face Rookery, hoping that if he survived this, he would have a chance to wipe that smug look right off the hunter's face.

But he could feel something amiss with that mortal boy almost at once. He hadn't run off as he'd been told. Instead, he was...looking for a way to help them?

No matter, Frederick decided. "Stay away from my family," he growled as he mounted a rock. Defiantly he spread his cape. "Do your worst!" With pleasure, Rookery thought, and it took all Frederick had to repress a shudder.

But the stake never hit home. "The age of chivalry is not yet dead," Anna said proudly. Luckily Freda was there to cover her mouth and pull her back into the shadows. That mortal, Frederick thought bitingly as he glanced at the stake and then rushed Rookery. A shot of fear passed through the hunter, and Frederick took almost sick pleasure in knowing the hunter truly feared the hunted, but the moment was short-lived. From behind his back, Rookery pulled a large neon cross and shone it in Frederick's face. Frederick was forced to recoil and slip back into the shadows.

Rookery turned to Tony. "You," he spat. He turned back to where the vampires had been hiding. Be still, Frederick mentally urged, watching the scene intently. Rookery turned back to the boy, turning his attentions there for now. Back underground. Gregory, Anna, Freda, and Rudolph wasted no time obeying. I'll join you in a moment, Frederick added, watching curiously as Rookery advanced on Tony and tried to scare him off with the cross. "What kind of bloodsucker are you?" he asked when this failed.

But Frederick sensed the answer deep in his soul, if he could still be said to have a soul. He'd seen enough, he decided, and quietly he slipped back into the crypt.

TLV

Rookery lowered the cross and advanced again. With no other options left, Tony turned and struggled to ascend the nearest hill as fast as possible. He turned to face Rookery, still backing away from him, but before either party could do much of anything, a twig snapped under Tony's feet, and he plunged about five or six feet into the room below. "Tony, are you alright?" Rudolph asked as Rookery took a position in the corner of the hole. The boys looked up, and Rookery pulled a flare gun, cocked it, and took aim. "Look out!" Rudolph pulled Tony out of the way just as Rookery fired. "Come on!" he urged. Tony wasn't quite sure the big hurry, but he was in no position to complain about it, so he did as he was told.

Rudolph ducked out of the way just as the sparks started flying. Tony could hear the other vampires crying out and taking cover behind whatever they could find on short notice, but all he could do was stare at the massive cavern, utter a single, "Wow," and look around, trying to absorb anything and everything about the place in the short time the flare would have had left before it burned out.

"Hey, what's your problem?" asked another voice, echoing from above.

"None of your business, pal," Rookery spat.

"It is, when it's in my cemetery. Visitin' hours are from dawn to dusk. Now, get a move on!"

The last sparks faded, and Rudolph's father stepped out of his hiding place. "What you did was foolish," he said.

"Foolish," his wife conceded before looking at Tony, "but brave."

Tony's eyes fixed on the amulet around the man's neck, and gingerly, he reached over to touch it. The vampire clasped his hand just as it reached its destination, and then both were suddenly somewhere else.

TLV

A horse whinnied as it stopped, allowing its rider to dismount and enter the cave. She'd followed this man all the way here in the hope that she could offer shelter or other help, but she wasn't entirely sure what to expect. After all, she had heard rumors...

As she approached, she was struck by the beauty of the man's face. Surely he couldn't have been more than twenty or so, and perhaps he was eligible. Her family was trying to find her a husband, after all. By the way this man appeared dressed, she guessed he was wealthy and of good family, which would certainly help her cause. None of these thoughts are going to matter if he dies, she told herself sternly as she untied her cloak and laid it over his sleeping form.

A glint in the firelight caught her eye, and she looked over to his hand, in which was a small, round, silver amulet with a red center stone. She picked it up to get a better look, but before she could tell much, the hand clasped her wrist. The man had awakened.

He hissed, bearing the fangs of a vampire.

TLV

Frederick released Tony's hand, and the enormity of the night's events started to seep into him. He looked away from his family and their guest, blinking a few times and trying to clear his head. "We shared a vision," he said.

"He has a sympathy for our kind," Freda replied.

"Oh, lovely," Anna said, eyes fixed on Tony.

Frederick would need to get to that later. He had to reach an understanding about the vision first. He began to move deeper into the cavern as he spoke. "Young Von found the stone. Then he made his way to Scotland, plucked from the sea by a merchant ship just as rumor had it."

"Then he could still be roaming free," Freda said. Gregory's very mixed reaction was palpable to them all.

"There was a woman I'd never seen before. She wore a strange coat of arms. We must find which family she belongs to," he said as he started pacing laterally, "trace her crest."

"I can help," Tony said.

"No, it's too risky to involve a mortal." The reality remained, but Frederick wasn't about to take his chances.

"What've we got to lose?" Rudolph burst out. "We've been searching for three centuries."

"This is what comes from contact with mortals," he hissed as he turned on his son. "Disrespect. Insolence!"

"Frederick, he does have a point," Freda said.

"Alright." Frederick turned to Tony and started backing him into a corner. "Help if you can, but do not think to change your mind and betray us to our most hateful enemy, or my wrath will be revealed. Am I clear?" Tony nodded. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask, "Are you sure?" Tony nodded again. "Good," Frederick said as he straightened. "Now, go home. It's late." Tony ran over to where Rudolph stood, and Rudolph led him out of the tomb.

Frederick turned toward one end of the cavern and started walking toward it, his hands on his hips. The last time they trusted a sympathizer, they were all nearly killed, but this mortal boy Tony had managed to share a vision with him, on top of whatever compelled him to save them from Rookery. And the dreams. He knew definitively that Rudolph wouldn't lie about something like that. He looked up to the skylight, from which he could hear Rudolph say, "I think my father likes you." "Personal preference has nothing to do with it," he muttered, starting to turn back toward his family.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"I think my father likes you," Rudolph said as he walked with Tony down a path leading outside the cemetery.

"THAT? Was _liking_ me?" Tony asked in disbelief.

"I know he can seem like a monster because he's so stern with us."

"He is a monster."

"But you don't know what it's like for us vampires to be so tormented."

"Oh, yeah, I do. It happens to me every day at school."

Rudolph paused and turned to face Tony. "Who dares torment my friend?"

TLV

"Alright," Rudolph said as he adjusted the cereal box on Tony's head. "Do you remember your lines?" Tony nodded. "Good. It's five minutes to show time." He turned to the window two stories over their heads and drifted upward to open it and make sure their two targets were asleep. Nigel and Flint McAshton were their names, grandsons of the local lord and, of course, very spoiled. As good as common peasants you are, he thought. _My_ father's a count. Personally, Rudolph wanted to torture these two, but Tony just wanted a break from being picked on constantly, no bodily harm involved. The compromise was the reason Tony was dressed in a ridiculous outfit and waiting for the director to call action. He looked over his shoulder to make sure the lightning storm was in full force, and then he floated back down to pick Tony up. "Remember how this works," he whispered as they slipped through the window and into position.

Wind rustled the curtains, and Rudolph caused the two-paned window to open and close a few times. Nigel had stirred and was now sitting up as the window opened slowly. He rushed across the room to his brother and said, "Flint! Flint, Flint, wake up!" He shook Flint awake, and they both sat up. Tony was already ready, his feet in Rudolph's palms, his cape spread, and slowly being raised into view.

"I am...the Lord...of the Underworld," Tony said. "I am your master."

Why did he have to lisp? Rudolph thought at once, knowing it just blew the entire scheme. "It's Tony Thompson," Flint said.

"Get him," Nigel ordered.

Tony ducked out of view, and in a second Rudolph was crouching on the foot-board of Flint's bed. "I don't think so," he said. The boys screamed and rushed back against the headboard, pulling the covers up as some form of protection. Rudolph put a finger to his lips, and they fell silent at once. They will hear his piece, he'd see to that. "I am the fiendish friend of Tony Thompson. If you do not treat him with respect, you will feel my wrath! Tell anybody what you've just witnessed, and you'll be bat-bait." Rudolph hissed, and bat wings spread out from behind his ears. The boys resumed screaming until someone burst into their room demanding to know what was going on, but by then, Rudolph and Tony were well on their way home. Rudolph made a point of closing the window behind them.

"Dude, that was awesome," Tony said enthusiastically.

"Thank you," Rudolph replied. He couldn't help but be proud of his handiwork.

"I bet nobody ever picks on you."

"Well, my brother does sometimes, but he's my brother. He's allowed to do that."

"Well, yeah."

"I'm such a horrible influence on you," Rudolph said with a smirk, "keeping you up until all ungodly hours and whatnot."

"You're still my best friend, no matter what." Rudolph couldn't help but smile at Tony. "I thought you were gone forever last night."

"I'm sorry about that. I really had to get home, if only for a little bit."

"It's okay."

Rudolph and Tony flew through the window and landed at the foot of Tony's bed. Tony took off the cereal box and began untying his cape. "I have to go back home now," he said, "but I'll see you tomorrow night. Alright?"

Tony nodded. "Okay." Rudolph smiled and waved, and then he flew back out the window.

TLV

Tony leaned against the fence, watching the McAshton boys walk up to him, heads down and silent. He straightened and stepped into their path. "Sleep well last night, girls?" he taunted. It was only fair in his book that they received a taste of their own medicine. Nigel and Flint looked at each other, unsure if they should even tell the star of last night's show what had happened. "Carry these," Tony said.

"Yes, Master," they stuttered in unison, taking his books and backpack as he handed them over. The bell rang, and Tony marched into the building, gesturing for the boys to follow, which they did promptly.

TLV

"In three months' time, the weather gods permitting, McAshton's will become Scotland's calling card to not only the golf world, but-" Bob explained, cut short by the opening and closing of a door. Everyone looked at the scruffy, black-clad, cigar-smoking man who'd just entered. The monocle Lord McAshton spent several moments properly adjusting fell back to his chest.

"Playing games while corruption festers beneath your feet?" Rookery asked. "Typical."

"What do you mean, bursting in here?" Lord McAshton asked as he got to his feet. This man had been pestering him for months by phone, but this was going much too far.

"Much as I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings you need to know, you have an infestation of vampires."

McAshton had to think fast, or his reputation for entertaining these notions would spread like wildfire and he'd lose everything he and his family had built for generations. He laughed amiably in an effort to assuage the awkwardness and growled, "Do you know who you're talking to?"

"I might ask you the same thing."

"Obviously a madman," he said before things could get even further out of hand. "I'll show him the door myself." He walked over to Rookery and led him into the hall. He could hear Bob say to the group, "Obviously, a madman."

"Now, what's all this talk about vampires?" McAshton demanded in a low voice as he and his unwanted guest advanced deeper into the foyer.

"You don't seem terribly surprised, my lord?" Rookery said slowly as they stopped at the entrance to a lateral hallway. Whatever he was trying to get McAshton into, the latter wanted none of it.

"Well, one's heard rumors. Legends. Nonsense, of course."

"Though wouldn't you like it sorted out once and for all by a trained professional, in fact by the only trained professional? Now I will admit that my fee is substantial."

"Fee? I'm to pay you a fee? For what?"

"For putting an end to your worries, and face facts, my lord. You do have worries."

McAshton looked around and lowered his voice even further. "Has there been any...biting...in town?" he saked, gesturing to his own neck.

"No, not to my knowledge."

Now this, he could easily write off as lunacy. He laughed. "Well then, show me a biting. There'll be no question of fees until I see proof. Now, leave." McAshton himself turned to walk back to his drawing room, but he could feel Rookery's eyes on his back for far too long.

TLV

"They still think this is some kind of public service," he muttered, watching the lord go and sticking his cigar back in his mouth as he turned to walk out the front door. But he had to admit, Lord McAshton had given him just the idea, and he knew exactly who to use as bait. He climbed into his truck and gave the door a forceful slam behind him to get it to latch properly. Then he pulled out and drove back into town. First stop, liquor store.

TLV

"Afternoon tea," Dottie said, pouring the tea for both herself and her husband. "Very civilized, very..." She took her seat and clapped her hands, clearly pleased with her handiwork, even if it went unnoticed by the two men in her life.

"Stags are deers with horns, right?" Tony asked, looking up from a book on crests half the size he was.

"Male deers, yeah," Bob replied, barely looking up from his paperwork. "Lots of Scottish crests have those."

"Lots?" It sounded like Tony percieved a daunting task ahead of him.

"Yeah. It means they descended from hunters." Tony turned back to his book.

"So, Tony," Dottie said, leaning over and flipping through his book. "Why so interested in crests all of a sudden?"

"It's sort of...a new hobby," Tony replied.

"Tony," Dottie said slowly. She wasn't buying this cock and bull line for a minute, and she was going to let her son know it. "What're you really up to?" It looked like it was working, but before she could get anywhere, Bob intervened.

"Lord McAshton has stags on his crest. See?" he said, handing a paper to Tony. Dottie could see at once that something clicked in his brain. Tony had found what he was looking for, though why it was so important she couldn't quite work out.

"Can I have this?" Tony asked at once.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"And Dad?" he continued, still staring at the paper. "Can I go to work with you tomorrow?"

Now Bob looked up. "Uh, it's Saturday. Yeah. Why?"

"To check out your project." That wasn't the reason. Dottie sensed it at once. Tony was lying to them, but why?

Bob smiled, pleasantly surprised and a little bit proud. "Great."

"Will Lord McAshton be there?"

"He lives there, buddy."

"But don't let that stop you," Dottie said jokingly.

"I won't." And Tony dashed upstairs to his room.

"Tony," she called after him.

"Well, be proud he finally has an interest in something normal." Oh, not this again. "Enough weirdness going on around here, no wonder he's having nightmares." Bob grabbed a few papers and then walked back to the table, then around to the counter for a few other things.

"What do you mean?"

"My presentation today got interrupted by a guy claiming the village was infested with vampires."

"You're making that up," she said as he walked out of the kitchen. "What guy?"

Bob walked back in for the rest of his papers. "How should I know?" he asked with a shrug. "Some weirdo." Dottie watched him leave again and then stared past her tea cup to the table. First Tony, now this from Bob. Carefully, she set the cup down and allowed herself to consider the idea that maybe it was possible. Maybe there really were vampires in McAshtonland. There was too much that couldn't be explained without the idea.

She picked up the cup, downed the rest of its contents, and poured herself another cup like she was an alcoholic and the tea was actually whiskey.

TLV

Rookery drove up to the cemetery and parked, careful to keep only his headlights on. This was his second trip there that day; the first was to build the mechanism that would eventually be used to lure the caretaker to his death. Or undeath. But it was a necessary evil which could be dealt with later. He picked up the six-pack of booze from the passenger seat, a couple of glasses, and walked into the graveyard.

"I thought I told you," the caretaker snapped at once. "Visitin' hours are-"

"From dawn to dusk," Rookery replied. "But I'm not here to visit a dead person." He held up the booze. "Care for a drink?"

The caretaker stared for a moment and then sighed and said, "Oh, fine. It's Friday night and I've been workin' hard. I deserve to get a little wasted."

This is way too easy, Rookery thought, smirking to himself. He followed the caretaker to a small valley between two graves, and they got settled in. "So what brings you to this crossroads?" he asked. "Nowhere to go on a Friday night is a sad place to be."

"I've got no family," the caretaker confessed. "No one to be with. Just me and all these dead people."

"I'll drink to that. To dead people," Rookery said, pouring a measure for the caretaker. They clinked their cups in toast. "And...to the living dead."

"Ah, come on. You're either alive or dead. There ain't no in between, pal."

Rookery leaned forward. "Unless you're a vampire."

"Vampires?" the caretaker asked, and he couldn't help but laugh. "You must be jokin'."

"I knew you'd laugh. It's only natural, but we've been hunting them for over four hundred years."

"That long," the caretaker said, awestruck.

"It's a family business, you might say," Rookery replied.

The caretaker espied the amulet around Rookery's neck. "Eh, for a hunter, you wear an awful lot of jewelry," he said, reaching for the amulet.

"This thing," Rookery replied, leaning back at once. The caretaker backed off. "The vampires have one just like it, but with one small difference: theirs is designed to help them, this...is designed to send them straight to Hell. All I need is the stone, and the magic is complete."

The caretaker laughed awkwardly and looked away. "Now it's...it's magic."

Rookery gestured for the caretaker to lean forward. "There is a whole other world out there, if you just know where to look for it." The caretaker nodded, and a twig snapped somewhere close by, attracting both men's attention. The caretaker, now frightened half-stiff with all this talk of vampires and magic and such, practically clung to Rookery's heels as he led the way to the contraption he'd built earlier that day. "Oh, we're in luck," he said. "Come on."

"Wha-what is this? This wasn't here yesterday."

"This? Oh, oh, yeah. I built this. I'll explain it later. Now, must've gone down here," he muttered, and he looked up at the caretaker. If he'd chosen his words carefully enough, then this next part should work perfectly. "I'm goin' after it."

"Wait. It's my graveyard, it's my job. I'll do it."

Rookery had just attached the rope to the hook. "Well, uh, if you insist." The caretaker nodded. "But, eh, take this safety line."

The caretaker straddled the hole and allowed Rookery to tie the rope around his waist. "_Not_ that I'll need it," he said, wagging his finger to emphasise his point.

"There you are," Rookery said, handing the caretaker a flashlight. The man stepped off the edges of the hole, and Rookery flipped a switch. "And down we go."

"Down _I_ go," the caretaker corrected.

You're going down, alright, Rookery thought, watching the caretaker descend into the abyss.

TLV

Tony finally ceased tossing and turning and trying to get to sleep, and he resorted to staring at the open window, wondering when Rudolph was going to come back and fighting the growing feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.

TLV

Gregory sniffed the air, for it was the scent of sweet human blood in that crypt which finally stirred him from sleep. His eyes snapped open, and he looked around, spotting the caretaker at once. Crazy old fool, he thought, leaping down from the ceiling. The man started at the sound and turned a hundred eighty degrees before resuming his exploration. Gregory followed closely but silently until finally he decided he had enough of waiting, snarled and dug his teeth into the man's neck.

TLV

Rookery started cackling now, and he flipped the switch on the winch's motor. "The line grows taught, his heart pounds, he knows what's on the other end of the line and he relishes the fight!" He turned the motor on in the opposite direction and waited as the rope wound back up, cackling some more all the while.

TLV

Gregory didn't know why the man was suddenly sliding across the floor, and he didn't particularly care. All he wanted was to finish him off. He chased the man halfway across the crypt, losing sight of him only for a moment, and latched onto his ankles just as he started ascending through the skylight.

TLV

Rudolph was now fully awake and greeted by the scene of his brother struggling against some unseen adversary and using an unconscious man to do it. "Gregory!" he shouted at once, immediately sensing the truth and danger of the situation. He leapt down from the ceiling. "Gregory!"

"Here we come, yeah!" Rookery cooed from above them.

"No, Gregory! Gregory, let go!" Rudolph grabbed one of his brother's ankles. "It's a trap! Gregory, let go!"

TLV

Gregory!

Rudolph's intense fear cut through Gregory's blood-lustful haze faster than anything else could have, and immediately Gregory loosened his grip on his victim and fell to the ground. By now the whole family was awake. He was in so much trouble. "Gregory Frederick Von Sackville-Bagg, what is the meaning of this?" Frederick demanded. Yep, he was in trouble.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Mm, here you come, here you come," Rookery said as he finished reeling the caretaker in. He scanned the body and then pushed the head to one side, revealing just the two holes he was looking for. "Bingo," he said.

TLV

Tony closed the front door behind him and then ran out toward the cemetery, now almost completely possessed of the notion that if he didn't get there as fast as possible, he could lose his new-found friends forever.

TLV

Rudolph pushed himself into a sitting position and turned to face his father, listening to Gregory, who had no choice in the matter really, tell his father the truth. "You bit him?" Frederick snapped. Rudolph gave his brother a smack on the arm, and Gregory slid to his feet.

"Just a taste," he said wearily.

"Was it worth betraying your family?" Frederick demanded.

"Me?" Gregory shot back, wheeling on Frederick. "I'm the traitor? I've betrayed all this? No! You're the traitor."

"What?"

"You're the traitor, forever denying the truth of us. We are dark gods, but you've turned us into cowards, skulking around our holes like worms."

"What would you have us do?"

"Fight back! Make these mortals' blood run cold."

"You could do it, Gregory," Frederick said slowly. "You're young, strong, ruthless, and willing to risk a stake through the heart to prove it."

"Better a stake than this prison," Gregory said sharply as Frederick turned his back, forcing the latter to face him again.

"Do you think me oblivious?"

"What does it matter to you what I think, if I think?" Rudolph's eyes widened at the comment. This was the closest Gregory ever came to revealing what truly bothered him.

"It matters greatly," Frederick whispered. "I feel your sting."

"But you are Frederick the Great! You feel nothing!"

TLV

Tony ran into the cemetery just in time to see Rookery attach a huge light to an apparatus over the skylight of the crypt while some sort of spat was going on within the vampire family. He was right! This was bad. With a sinking feeling, he ran to the other entrance of the crypt, the one Rudolph led him out of the previous night, and from there, he managed his way into the foyer. But he was too late.

TLV

"Let there be light!" Rookery declared, flipping the switch. Blinding light filled the cavern, forcing all of the Sackville-Baggs back against one of the walls.

"Begone!" Frederick demanded, spreading his cape and bat wings over his wife and kids.

"We've uncovered a whole flock. Oh, thank you so much for your public spirit."

TLV

For a moment, Tony was unsure what to do other than gasp and look around for a weapon. Frederick was sizzling and smoking on top of screaming in agony, and the other vampires were in a panic besides being in physical pain. Tony picked up a rock that fit into his palm, and he hurled it at the giant light that was the source of his friend's family's torment. It shattered the lamp it crashed into and went just deep enough to shut down the entire mechanism.

Oh, thank goodness, Frederick thought, near to collapse.

"My hero," Anna said.

"Goal!" Tony cheered.

"Wow," Rudolph said with a smile.

"Who did that?" Rookery asked, raising the light to inspect the damage. "Hey," he called into the tomb.

Anna, Rudolph, and Freda helped Frederick lie down, and Anna allowed him to rest his head on her lap. "I found out about the coat of arms," Tony said. "It's Lord McAshton's, my father's boss. The missing stone must be at his house." He waited a moment, watching Frederick. "Did you hear me, sir?"

"You barely saved my life," Frederick replied.

"He's very, very weak," Freda added.

"I know just what you need," Tony said.

TLV

Is this really necessary, Gregory thought as his mother tied the straps of the straitjacket behind him and adjusted the muzzle over his mouth.

You bit a man, not me, Rudolph replied.

I'm going to get you for this.

Last time I checked, you're not in the position to.

Children, please don't fight like this, Freda chided, intruding on their mental conversation.

If you ask me, he brought this on himself, Rudolph thought as he turned to follow his father, sister, and new best friend out of the crypt. Freda followed, pulling Gregory along behind her with the chain.

Why do you people even do this to me anymore? Gregory asked. You know how easy it is for me to break out.

It's for our peace of mind, dear.

Can't see how.

You know how we want you to learn that your actions have consequences.

Haven't heard that one before.

Gregory, Frederick snapped, playing the part of the intruder for scene two. Gregory fell silent simply out of the desire to no longer deal with his father, and he let himself be led around like a common dog.

TLV

Tony waited patiently while the five vampires finished their meals, this time better able to keep hold of the contents of his stomach, and watched as they formed a clump in the middle of the barn, near the ladder to the hay loft. His eyes rested on Gregory for a moment as he indignantly allowed Freda to wipe off his mouth and replace the muzzle. Remind me not to get on his bad side, he thought.

Will do, Rudolph replied, startling him for a moment. "Not that you need the help," he said with a smile and a light shrug.

"No," Frederick said as he pushed himself off the ladder and started walking his family to the door. "I must find a place to hide you children." Someone must've asked if they could go home, Tony figured.

"You can stay at my house," he offered.

"We need darkness, dampness, and decay."

"Then you need our cellar."

TLV

Frederick allowed Tony and Rudolph to lead the way back to the Thompson residence, taking great care that the rest of his family followed closely enough to ensure that no one got lost. "So what do you mortals do for fun?" he heard Rudolph ask. "Besides play Nintendo." Frederick couldn't help but smile. It had been far too long since he'd seen Rudolph interact with anyone outside the clan, and he was proud that his son had chosen so well.

"Well, lots of stuff," Tony replied with a shrug, and he started rattling off a list for Rudolph's benefit. Frederick turned his gaze skyward and his thoughts to the stone. He'd told Rudolph some twenty-four hours ago that he was sure they were on the right path, and looking back on his statement, he wondered if he'd picked up on something he wasn't quite aware of at the time, perhaps on Tony's entering into the equation. After all, in one day the boy had made significantly more progress than all seventeen Sackville-Baggs could manage in three centuries.

"Hey, we're here," Tony cried out, rushing up to his gate, undoing it, and then running up to the door, throwing it open. As soon as the vampires reached the front porch, Tony gestured for them to enter. Rudolph and Frederick both nodded to him, and Freda and Anna smiled. Gregory gave him a weary, still slightly angry look and then continued on. "The basement's over here," Tony said, walking over to a door near the base of a stairwell and leading the vampires into the depths. He stepped aside as the vampires started picking out makeshift beds for the day. "I'm sorry it's-"

"Perfect," Freda reassured.

"I need to go upstairs, but have a good day's sleep. And don't worry, I'm on it."

"On...on what, dear?"

"Finding the amulet, Mother," Rudolph said. "That's how we kids talk today."

"Oh," she said, still not quite sure it made sense.

Rudolph settled into a crate and held up his hand. "Bye, dude," he said.

"Bye, dude," Tony replied, giving him a high five. He closed the lid of the crate after his friend, and Freda smiled as she sat down next to her husband. He waved to the others as he walked back upstairs, and he closed the door gently behind him.

TLV

Dottie stirred at the sound of opening and closing doors, and for a moment, she couldn't help but wonder if there were dogs barking. Then her thoughts turned to other disturbances, these ones about the house. "Bob," she said, shaking his arm. "Bob, I hear something moving."

"I don't hear anything," Bob said frankly.

"Tony might be having a nightmare. Go check on the poor little guy."

"It's not my turn."

"It is your turn."

"Really?"

"Really."

Bob groaned and pulled himself to his feet, and he groped in the dark for his robe before stumbling out the door and down the hall. It was way too late to be bothered by this kid, and he was having his first peaceful sleep in ages. Did he really need to get up for this? But he eased Tony's door open anyway and stared into the room. Tony was sleeping like a rock, thank goodness, and Bob turned to leave when he thought he caught something amiss. He walked over, pulled Tony's glasses off, and set them on the nightstand before leaving.

"He's fine," he said when he walked back into the bedroom he shared with his wife and climbed back into bed. "Sleeping like the dead."

"Oh, good," Dottie replied. But did he really need to say 'dead'?

TLV

As soon as Bob closed the door, Tony threw the covers off and began to change into his pajamas. Gradually, small disturbances started to reach his ear, and he picked up the pace until finally he threw himself into bed in his tee shirt and boxer shorts and pulled the covers back over himself. The door opened, and he waited patiently until someone sat at the edge of his bed. "Tony," Anna whispered.

"Huh?" Tony groaned, looking up. "Oh, I thought you were my dad again."

"Don't be surprised. I only want you to have this." Carefully she spread a small white cloth on his bedspread, upon which was a dead rat. Uh, okay. "It's from the Old Country. It will bring you luck. And if you ever need me, just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you?" Tony nodded, and Anna pursed her lips, drawing out a long, haunting note which echoed long after she'd finished blowing. Tony tried several times to imitate this, and Anna demonstrated again. Tony made his next series of attempts, and this process continued until he had it down. "Very good," Anna said with a smile. "Now rest." Tony nodded and watched Anna leave before closing his eyes again.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Farmer McLaughlin walked out to the pasture and stared. For two days, cows had disappeared from the pasture and decided to hole up in the barn, scorning the sunlight entirely. Now, he was staring at an empty pasture, completely speechless. He turned around and then rushed back to the barn, throwing the door open. All five cows were suspended upside down from the rafters, and one dropped down to greet him, or to yell at him for letting in the light for the third time that week. "Gyahh! Sweet mother in Heaven!" McLaughlin cried, throwing the door shut and running back to the farmhouse. He was six centimeters away from calling a guy in a white coat with a six-centimeter needle.

TLV

Dottie threw open the curtains again with her usual "Good morning," and Tony hid the mouse corpse before she could notice.

"Good morning, Mom," Tony replied, sitting up. "Hey, today's the day I get to go to work with Dad."

"Yeah, I know. Why don't you invite Rudolph?"

"He couldn't make it."

"Ah, the mysterious stranger."

"Oh, he's around."

"Well, it would be nice to meet him one of these days," she said with her hands on her hips. "Maybe have his parents over for dinner."

"Actually, they would rather have you for dinner."

She shrugged but noted the comment anyway. "Either way is fine. C'mon, hurry up, let's go."

"Okay."

Tony unfurled the cloth Anna had given him the night before to get a better look at the dead rat, smiled at the thought of Rudolph's little sister, though he probably didn't have a shot with her anyway with two older brothers between them, and folded it back up to get changed.

TLV

"Lord McAshton," Bob called as he and Tony walked over to meet him. McAshton nodded and handed the plans he was holding to the guy on his right. "Hey, I'd like you to meet my son Tony."

"Ah, finally," McAshton replied, bending over and holding out his hand. "Little Tony Thompson." Thank God he was okay. "Let's feel that firm American grip." But Tony's eyes were fixed on a point beyond McAshton, somewhere down the driveway. McAshton could take a wild guess what had caught the lad's attention, but for the moment he chose not to pay attention.

"Shake Lord McAshton's hand," Bob prompted. Tony made a weak effort and then tried to hide behind his father's leg while still watching the truck. "Tony's very excited to hear about your family history. Aren't you, Tony?"

"Uh, not right now I'm not," Tony said.

"Well, it's a noble history indeed," McAshton began, struggling to keep this going as smoothly as possible. The last thing he needed was a little impressionable lad getting ideas about vampires and whatever else. "McAshtons have ruled in these countries since time...immemorial." McAshton had decided he couldn't ignore Rookery or his truck anymore. "You have to excuse me," he said to Bob before walking over.

Bob started walking over to the other foremen on the project, eyes still fixed on Rookery. "Tony, you stay away from that guy. He's crazy," he said to Tony, not that his son needed any prompting.

McAshton walked over to Rookery and hissed, "I told you not to come back, unless-"

"Unless, is exactly what's happened, my lord," Rookery replied, tilting his head to the side of the truck and walking over. McAshton followed, trying to form a logical, rational way to deny this sudden change in circumstances to anyone, including himself. Rookery undid a latch on the side of the truck and pulled out a rack, on which lay a dead man. Rookery pulled the head aside to reveal the bite marks, and Lord McAshton couldn't help but cry out and draw back. "Not the kind of holes that are good for the golfing business, eh, my lord? A biting right here in McAshtonland, and there'll be more, unless we come to some arrangement." The body started to sit up. McAshton wimpered, and Rookery forced it back into place before sliding the rack back inside and closing the flap behind it.

"It's Elizabeth, and her demon lover. Isn't it? They've returned," McAshton managed. Rookery looked up, slightly curious, and then walked over to McAshton.

"I told you you had worries."

"Oh, come in." McAshton led Rookery back up to the manor.

TLV

Tony watched the two men walk back to McAshton's place and slipped out of his safe place next to his father to follow them, managing to avoid notice from the hired help as he slipped inside the manor and up the stairwell after them. McAshton led Rookery to a portrait gallery and pointed at one of the older paintings. Tony followed the sounds of their footsteps and voices as they drifted through a mostly silent, very expansive house. "Our ancestor, Elizabeth McAshton."

Rookery stepped up to the portrait and stared at the woman's necklace. "The Stone of Attamon," he said slowly, in awe, clutching the amulet around his neck.

"My grandfather told me the legend. He said it was to die with me."

"Could still happen."

Tony ducked behind a bureau. "She saw a ship, foundered upon the rocks, though there'd been no storm." He ran up to the door. "No sign of life, no crew, save one who crawled ashore injured. But he was no mortal man."

"His name was Von. Von Sackville-Bagg. A vampire." Tony's ears perked up, and he remembered Von's words from the night of the ceremony: "Keep hold of it. Don't let go!" He especially remembered that sense of familiarity, as if he knew at the core of himself who Von was.

"Elizabeth was taken by this Von, and became one of the undead herself."

"And then what?"

"Our family staked her. And Von." It sounded almost like an afterthought to hear McAshton tell it that way.

"Warm-hearted bunch, aren't you."

"You of all people should understand."

"I'm joking, my lord. I'd have done the same myself. So where is she buried?"

"Why?"

"Like you said, we want to know if she's walking around. If I was a McAshton," he said, slipping the amulet beneath his shirt and turning slowly to McAshton, "I wouldn't want her looking for me. How do you like your stake, my lord?" Tony turned tail and ran outside before he could be caught by the men, especially Rookery, and he waited by a bush near the side of the manor for them to leave and head out across the property. Tony ran after them as soon as he felt it was safe to do so.

But on a perpendicular path between him and the McAshton mausoleum, Tony ran into Nigel and Flint McAshton, playing with toy guns and laughing and having fun until they bumped into him. The boys screamed, and Tony gave them a cry of his own. Tony stopped first, and moments later, the boys followed, panting. Tony shoved his hands into his pockets and spread his arms, like he was spreading a cape. "You're blocking the Lord of the Underworld," he snapped. He had no time for any of this.

"W-w-w-w-we don't mean to," Nigel replied. Tony hissed in response, and the McAshton boys recoiled.

"I want you to crawl back to your room," Tony said, lowering his jacket, "get under the bed, and stay there!" He pointed forcefully to the manor.

"Y-yes, Lord Underworld," Flint replied, and they sneaked around Tony and ran back to the manor.

"I said crawl!" Nigel and Flint dropped to their hands and knees with very little change in pace, and Tony turned and flounced down the path for a few paces before taking off at a run.

He was relieved to find that he wasn't terribly delayed, as McAshton and Rookery had just reached the door of the mausoleum. McAshton fiddled with the door knob for a few moments before Rookery said, "Allow me, my lord." He gestured for McAshton to step aside. "I'm an expert." He delivered a powerful kick to the door. dislodging the locking mechanism, and with a tap, the door swung open. "All part of the service." They walked into the mausoleum, and Tony slipped inside after them, turning to a small stairwell near the side of the door and making his ascent silently.

Tony reached the catwalk and eased onto it a few feet just in time to see Rookery finish cutting open the lid to Elizabeth's coffin, or the coffin that was labeled Elizabeth's, rather. The hunter passed off the classic tools of his trade, the stake and hammer, to McAshton, who took them with trembling hands, and then opened the coffin. Tony knelt to get a better view as Rookery slid the lid half-way off, just enough to reveal a collection of old, dusty pieces of silver and petrified cloves of garlic. "She was moved," Rookery said, all but confirming Tony's slight suspicion that Rookery knew definitively that Elizabeth was dead for good.

"But no one's been down here since Mother...died," McAshton replied, raising his eyes to a crypt on the wall.

Rookery picked up a clove of garlic and crushed it to dust right there. "I'm talking about centuries ago, my lord, and judging from what I see, this tomb is just here for show. She's in an unmarked grave wrapped in chains with a wooden stake through her ribs, the coffin purified." Something in Tony's subconscious clicked together, combining everything he'd heard thus far in some as-yet-unreachable truth.

"Why?"

"Would you really want your mum to be buried next to a vampire?"

"Oh, no, no, I loved Mother. She always smelled of gardenias."

"Shut up." Rookery started to walk around to the head of the coffin just as the wrought-iron railing supporting Tony broke, dangling him midair from the catwalk as he clutched at it with both hands for dear life. "They buried her in unhallowed ground, probably outside the churchyard walls."

"But that's acres worth of land."

"Which is why I come equipped with state-of-the-art vampire locators that you're paying so dearly for, my lord." Tony's grip finally faltered, and he fell screaming into the open coffin, startling both men. Rookery leaned over the edge of the coffin and growled, "That little vampire sympathizer," taking him by the shirt. Tony dug his teeth into the hunter's wrist as hard as he possibly could, hanging on until Rookery jerked himself free. "Oh, now, you've made your bed. Now," he said as he reached for the lid and dragged it back in place, "you can sleep in it!" Tony made an effort to stand up, but Rookery shoved him back before he could get anywhere.

"No! NO!" Tony yelled.

"You can't do that," McAshton said, aghast. "It's murder. He's just a boy, Thompson's...son."

"He's one of them. I've seen them all together slithering in the night." Meanwhile Tony's protests were going largely unnoticed.

McAshton set the hammer and stake on the coffin lid. "I must tell his parents."

Rookery picked up the stake, took McAshton by the lapel, and pointed the stake at his neck. "Now, there are plenty of ways to get your throat punctured, my lord. Don't. Make me be the one."

"Just tell me what to do," McAshton stuttered.

"Right, that's better. Now, go away, and remember." He released McAshton's lapel to draw his hand across his mouth in a gesture of silence.

Tony finally gave up protesting and slumped back in the coffin, accepting defeat. A mouse started squeaking, and he reached for his penlight to shine at the source of the sound, the one crack of light and air he still had left. He recoiled from the sight of the thing, but then a thought struck him. He pulled out the rat he'd carried with him all day, set it on his lap, and pursed his lips for a whistle.

TLV

Anna sat up at once at the sound of the whistle, took a quick look around, and then she reached over and tapped on her brother's crate. When he didn't answer, she knocked louder. "What?" he groaned, slipping his fingers under the lid.

"Tony's calling," Anna replied. "He could be in danger."

Rudolph pushed the lid up as a second whistle came. "Maybe he's found the stone. Let's go." He pulled himself out of the crate.

Anna pulled her hands to her chest. "Oh, the drama."

"Shh." Rudolph looked around their new basement home for anything that might be useful.

"Oh, dear! The sun."

"Daylight or not, we must go." Rudolph turned and picked up a helmet from a suit of armor before resuming his search. Anna was now getting to her feet and gathering up a red cloth large enough to cover them both at least for the most part.

"Where are you going?" Gregory asked, kicking open the wicker box in which he chose to sleep.

"You stay here," Rudolph replied, closing the lid and turning away.

Rudolph! Gregory yelled after him. Upon receiving no response, he sighed and turned away as much as his current position allowed.

I'm sorry, Gregory, but you'll just have to trust me.

"Here," Anna whispered, pointing to a reel of tin foil. We can use this to cover the rest of us.

Perfect. Let's suit up and go.

TLV

Rudolph leaned forward and scoped the surroundings for a bit before he and Anna set off again. "Left, right, left, right, left, right." They hurried past a black car as it pulled to a stop and its driver climbed out.

"Tony, Tony," Bob said, walking over to them.

"Whoa, whoa, stop," Rudolph said.

"What do you mean by running off like that today? You had me worried sick." Rudolph shrugged in response. This was really the last man he wanted to talk to at that moment. "Well, that's not goo- Wait, I suppose this is Rudolph under here," he said, tapping the helmet. Rudolph winced but nodded anyway. At least he wouldn't have to completely lie to this man. "Okay. Well, this isn't your fault, Rudolph." He leaned to the side a bit and spoke directly to Anna. "But when you get home tonight, Tony Thompson, we are having a serious talk." Nod, Rudolph urged. Anna complied. "Okay. Now, go on and...play your game. Whatever it is." Rudolph set off almost before Bob could finish.

"Left, right, left, right, left, right..."

"What's that all about?" Dottie asked from the door.

"Tony ran off from work today and I got really worried," Bob replied, walking up to her. "But I mean, I'm so happy he's playing with a friend and not obsessing about vampires."

"Amen, husband of mine," she said with a kiss. "Which means, we get the afternoon alone." She pulled him back into the house, and Bob looked over his shoulder.

"Mm, I like this Rudolph already."

Those are Tony's parents? Anna asked, disbelief plain in her tone.

I'm starting to see what Tony meant by 'they have their moments', Rudolph replied. Which way?

Turn right, then make a left at the end of the road. Then it's straight ahead.

Alright. "Left, right, left right, left right..."

TLV

We're here, Anna thought. Through that door. Rudolph peered through the eye slit in in the visor. The door had been kicked inward, the locking mechanism damaged by the break-in. He led his sister through the door and over to a nice shadowy corner that allowed them to shed their ridiculous sun-shielding disguise. They walked over to a coffin in the middle of the room that looked like it had just been disturbed. Rudolph was starting to get suspicious. "He's there," Anna said, and she and Rudolph pushed the lid aside.

"Tony! Are you alright?" Rudolph asked.

"Yeah," Tony replied, allowing Rudolph to help him to his feet. "Dude, you heard me."

"I heard you, my hero," Anna said, "and I wrote you a poem."

"Who did this to you?" Rudolph asked.

"Rookery," Tony replied. "We better find Elizabeth's tomb before he does."

Anna rushed to a perch. Was she really insisting on this? Rudolph wondered. "It's about, the power of love."

"Who's Elizabeth?"

"The last holder of the stone," Tony explained. "The woman in my dreams."

"Your face saw I in the cemetery, filled with fright, for the night was scary..."

"Rudolph, look!" Rudolph looked down at a rat squeezing through two iron bars.

"...still, you faced the foe, undaunted..."

"He wants to lead us somewhere," Rudolph said as he worked open the gate. Tony was close behind him.

"...I knew then it was you I wanted, to hold me when the winds are-" The gate creaked when it opened.

"Behind the pillar, look."

"Hey," Anna said, leaping from her perch to follow them.

Rudolph reached behind the pillar and pushed open the wall panel behind it. "It's a door."

"A secret passage," Tony added.

"This could lead to Elizabeth's grave."

They started their descent into the passage, and Tony waved his penlight around. "I wish we had a better light," he said.

Anna saw an opportunity. "Wait," she said. "Rookery seems to have left this behind." She handed Tony a much larger flashlight, for which he thanked her, and he turned it on as he led them through the tunnel.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Rookery chose to start digging at a place just outside the edge of the churchyard, where the sinners and suicides were often buried due to the shortage of crossroads in and around McAshtonland. The caretaker opened the door to his makeshift prison and sat up, looking at the hunter who'd gotten him into this mess. The poor bastard wasn't even paying attention! He laughed and then hopped off the rack, walking off the opposite way. Let's play a little game, he thought. How good a vampire hunter are you?

The challenge levied, the caretaker walked fearlessly through his old haunt and down the road to McAshtonland.

TLV

Freda picked up the chains straitjacket and then opened the wicker chest. "Gone, all of them," her husband said, looking around.

"They could've gone to the cliffs," Freda replied, tossing the chains and fabric aside. "Tonight's the night. Mortality beckons."

Frederick started, now noticing something amiss, and he patted his chest. "Gregory. He's stolen the amulet. He will crush our hopes. His final mockery."

Freda walked over and sat next to him. "No," she said gently. "He's a rebel, but that treachery is beyond him. If he has taken the amulet, it's to make the Call."

Frederick started to push himself up. "Then we shall go to the cliff, too. I'm still very weak. I would fall from the sky if I flew."

"We'll find a way." Frederick smiled at his wife's resilience and determination. Then, voices drifted down from above.

"It's not like him to stay out this late." A woman, possibly Tony's mother.

"Nothing's like him these days, ever since he met that Rudolph." This was a man, likely Tony's father. Frederick bristled at the implication made about his son. Freda helped him to his feet.

"I thought you liked him."

"I never really met him. Well, I mean, I did, but he was wrapped in foil." Now halfway up the stairs, the two vampires turned their gazes to the half-destroyed reel of tin foil. Ingenious, Frederick thought, simultaneously proud and amazed.

"Yeah, I know, but we've never even seen him."

"Never met his parents." Frederick smirked. "Probably foreigners." You could say that.

"Foreigners?" the lady snapped. "We are the foreigners. That's it. I'm callin' the cops, or the coppers, or whatever you call them here."

"Bobbies," the man clarified after a moment.

Time to act, Frederick thought, and he and his wife slipped out through a secondary entrance and made their way around to the front door. Best of luck, he told his wife as she approached first.

You assume I'll need luck, Freda replied, her chin up and a smile on her face.

TLV

The doorbell rang, and Bob went to answer it. "Hello?" asked a woman on the other end of the line.

"Yes? Hi, this is Dottie Thompson. I'm calling about my son," she replied.

"Sorry, Miss, I can't understand you."

"You can't understand me? You know what, never mind. I'll call you back."

Bob opened the door, and all he could do was stare at the woman standing there on the step, slack-jawed and wide-eyed. "I'm Freda Sackville-Bagg," she said.

"That's...wonderful," Bob managed.

"Rudolph's mother," she added, approaching. "I'm sure you're worried about Tony."

"Tony?"

"Your son."

"We know who he is," Dottie said bitingly as she approached the door to investigate whatever was going on. "We want to know where he-" Hello, Tall, Pasty and Handsome, she thought as soon as a man fitting that description stepped onto her porch.

"Tony is going to the cliff with Rudolph and Anna, to watch the comet," said the man standing before her.

"Anna?" Dottie asked.

"Our daughter. Dare I say your charming young man has cast quite a spell on her."

"Well, we think he's charming."

"Frederick Sackville-Bagg, at your service," he said, taking her hand and moving to kiss it. Dottie didn't seem at all bothered that he decided to take a deep breath instead.

"Hi. How 'bout it, Bob? Wanna see a comet?"

"Sure." The spell started to break a bit, and Bob started to take a look at exactly what their two guests were wearing. "Are...we supposed to be in costume like you guys?"

"Costume?" they asked at once, as if they found the whole idea loathsome.

"Eh, Shakespearean aristocratic thing, like you guys."

"I do not wear the costume of an aristocrat," Frederick said tersely. "I am an aristocrat."

"Okay. Whatever."

"We should hurry," Freda said. "It's urgent."

"Urgent?" Dottie asked.

"The comet is near."

"Oh."

"Now come, we must be off," Frederick said, and as a group they started walking away from the porch.

"Where's your car?" Bob asked.

"We flew," Frederick replied.

"Let's take yours," Freda suggested, and Frederick snapped. The front door swung shut on its own, surprising both Thompsons.

A horn sounded, and a car pulled up and parked feet from where Bob and Dottie stood. Frederick and Freda slipped out of reach of the headlights, but their hosts hardly took notice. Bob walked up to meet the intruder, who happened to be Lord McAshton himself, holding an axe and a stake. "Hold up, Thompson. I've got a job for you. You may not like it. Oh, we didn't like it three hundred years ago but we did our duty. That's the point. Duty. Use the blunt end of the axe," he said, demonstrating. "One, two, three, spurt. It's over."

"What are you talking about?" Bob asked.

"You have to drive this stake through Tony's heart."

"Oh, my God," Dottie said, stepping up to her husband's side.

"No worries, he's already dead. He's a vampire, Bob. It's hard for a father to hear, but your son is a bloodsucking fiend."

"Okay, don't worry," Bob said to their guests, gesturing for them to stay put. "I'll handle this."

"Take them. You'll thank me in the morning."

"I've had enough, of all you people and all your vampire B.S. And don't call Tony a vampire ever again. And how dare you embarrass me and my wife in front of our guests! These, are aristocrats."

"Aristocrats," McAshton said, putting the monocle up to his eye.

"Yes, my lord," Frederick replied, stepping forward. "And Tony happens to be my son's best friend. And Robert is right. Tony is no vampire. Now drop that axe, and take your leave." McAshton dropped the axe at once.

"Yeah, take your leave, or you'll be building your own golf course, buddy."

"Alright," McAshton said, throwing the stake behind him. "I'm leaving." He turned and walked back to his car, placing his hand on the hood before recoiling at the high temperature.

"You hear that, Dottie? I told him to take his leave."

"You were wonderful," Dottie cooed.

"Bob, the comet," Freda reminded, and she and Bob walked around the rear of the car.

"My lady," Frederick said, holding the door for Dottie. He waited until she was settled before climbing in himself.

McAshton stared at the car driving past, the oddness of recent events finally dawning on him. "Those aren't aristocrats," he muttered. "Those are vampires." He tried several times to start his car, taking no heed of the vampire sitting up behind him. The vampire smirked. This was just the meal, he thought, and he dug his teeth deep into McAshton's neck. McAshton cried out and jumped, his hands flying to his neck only to be restrained by his attacker, who slurped violently from his jugular. He found himself very quickly becoming faint, and before he knew it, he had blacked out.

TLV

"We must be near the cemetery," Tony said as they continued through the tunnel. "Follow me."

"To the ends of the earth, my darling," Anna replied.

Rudolph continued to lead, and Tony continued to inspect his surroundings, until suddenly Rudolph stopped. "We have to keep moving. Time's running out."

"We can't go any further."

"Why not?"

"There's something ahead," Rudolph said.

"Some kind of curse," Anna added. Tony turned and waved the flashlight around the subterranean room. "You have to go first, Tony dearest." So Tony made his way up to a chicken-wire fence and then scanned the chamber beyond before spotting it: a tomb big enough for two, wrapped in chains.

"I found it," he called back.

"Go see what it is," Rudolph said.

"But be careful." This from Anna. Tony pressed on up to the coffin, and Rudolph and Anna advanced as far as they dared.

"There's something written on here," Tony said. "Caveat vamptor."

"'Let the vampire beware'," Rudolph translated solemnly. "It's a curse."

Tony set the light on the coffin lid and pulled at the chains. "Stupid chains," he groaned. "Break! Break! Come on!" He sighed and slumped against the tomb. "We need a miracle." Dust drifted down from the ceiling, prompting all three to look up. A drill bit was just cutting through the ceiling of the chamber.

"Oh, no," Rudolph whispered.

"Oh, yes," Tony cheered. He stepped away from the coffin, took cover, and put his shirt up to his mouth just as a huge chunk of ceiling fell onto the coffin and the drill bit descended to the lid, spinning the chains out of their anchors and damaging the stone on which the curse was written. "Yes, the curse is gone." He pumped his fist, and Rudolph responded in kind. "Yes."

Rudolph and Anna rushed up to the tomb and pulled the chains off of it. "Let's try and open it," Rudolph said. "One, two, three, pull! Now!" He, Anna, and Tony pulled the lid askew, though he and Anna did most of the work.

"It's Elizabeth," Tony said, looking up from the couple buried there, she with a stake in her chest.

"Uncle Von," Rudolph cheered. "Father was right. He did come here."

"Oh, how romantic. Their love, preserved forever," Anna said. Not quite, Tony thought, though what prompted him he couldn't quite be sure. Amulet first, he decided, reaching for the chain around Elizabeth's neck and pulling it into view.

"The stone isn't here," he said. Rudolph and Anna looked at each other, both ready to to accept another three hundred years of darkness, but Tony had lost himself.

TLV

Gregory landed on a dirt road leading to the cliff and closed his eyes, listening intently to everything around him. His brother and sister were still safe, with Tony as their guide through a section of tunnel leading to the graveyard. Rookery was managing a somewhat laborious pursuit of an unmarked grave. Von's? he wondered, thinking back to his mother's comment two nights before. Could Von still be alive? No, Gregory thought, shaking his head. He would have had to have survived on his own for three hundred years, or he would have reached out to them before then. He would have come home.

He fought a shudder and gave a heavy sigh as he forced himself to focus. He had a task to complete, and he'd be damned if he was going to let some petty little emotions get in the way of his doing what needed to be done. He picked up the amulet around his neck, studied it for a moment, and then walked down the rest of the length of the dirt road. Frederick was too weak to do this himself; Gregory only hoped his father wouldn't be too angry with him.

TLV

Go, Von mentally urged his wife Elizabeth. I'll do what I can. Elizabeth ran toward the castle, and Von turned to face their pursuers, torch-wielding, stake-toting vampire hunters, some of whom he'd seen before. Now there were a good dozen of them, and he was done for.

Elizabeth almost couldn't watch, so her instinct to run won out, and she fled deep into the castle, listening to the hunters cry out for pursuit. She made it all the way to an upstairs room and looked around, bordering on frantic. She had to do what Von would have wished of her, hide the stone before the hunters could pry it from her cold fingers after they had staked her. Her foot landed on a loose floorboard, popping it slightly up, and before she could second-guess herself, she pulled up the floorboard and tore the stone from the chain around her neck. She wrapped it in a bonnet, all the while keeping track of their progress through the castle. But she'd done it. She slipped the stone under the board and replaced it. It was safe.

The vampire hunters burst through the door before she could celebrate, and their leader held up two stakes in the form of a cross. She recoiled at once, but she knew the same fate that had claimed her husband had come for her, as well.

TLV

"The stone is in my room," Tony blurted as soon as he came to. "No wonder I had those dreams." Anna looked away, and Rudolph started to draw his eyebrows together. He could faintly hear Rookery thanking Tony's sudden action from above and knew at once that they'd been spied upon. Rookery never once believed that Elizabeth would come back from the grave. He looked down at Elizabeth and Von again, letting everything sink in. "Dude, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm...I'm just thinking," Rudolph said, blinking and not looking up at his friend. Gently, he reached down to touch Von's cheek, and then he straightened and leaned against the edge of the coffin. "We must be off," he added, choosing to look Tony directly in the eye. "We've only a little while before the comet arrives." Tony nodded, and the three of them set off before the two vampires stopped dead in their tracks.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Gregory reached the edge of the cliff and took another look at the amulet as he undid the clasp and removed it from around his neck. He wrapped the chain around his hand twice, and he started to swing it over his head. A haunting series that only rose in pitch every few notes started to ring out through the night, calling every Sackville-Bagg vampire currently alive to come to the cliffs at once.

TLV

"What?" Tony demanded. "What's happening?"

"The Call," Anna said, looking at Rudolph.

"You go to the cliffs," her brother replied. "We'll get the stone."

"Okay, let's go," Tony said, sounding more eager to get back to the task at hand than to know what exactly his friends were hearing. He and Rudolph continued down the tunnel, and Anna took another path she knew would lead to the surface. From there, she could find the way on her own.

TLV

"Robert, could you drive a little faster, please?" Frederick asked. The combination of nerves and claustrophobia brought on slowly but surely by the strange horse-less carriage was making him much more antsy than he was used to being.

"Darling, do you hear?" Freda asked, turning to him.

Dottie looked over her shoulder and asked, "Hear what?"

"The Call." Bob raised an eyebrow as he looked at the group. Frederick had to admit she was a little bit too frank in assuming their two mortal companions knew anything about what was supposed to happen tonight.

"It's Gregory, our eldest son," he explained. "He's calling the clan."

Bob looked back at the road with a small, befuddled-beyond-all-hope "Yeah." Frederick leaned back slightly in his seat, listening intently to the Call. He couldn't help being awed that his son had done this.

TLV

"Mother, Father," Anna said, running over to the parked vehicle as soon as she sensed her parents near enough to talk to. Gregory looked over his shoulder, still calling. "We found Uncle Von's grave. I mean, Tony found it, and he saw the stone in a vision. He and Rudolph are after it now."

"May their quest be fruitful," Frederick replied as he, his wife, and Anna approached the edge of the cliff. "Thank you, Gregory," he said earnestly. Gregory simply stared blankly for the short moment it took his father to form a smile. Gregory smiled in response, and he swung the amulet faster. Bats flew in from all directions.

"Something weird is happening here," Dottie said from behind the glove box, staring out the windshield at all that was currently transpiring. She looked over to her husband, who was smiling at her for a reason she couldn't quite place, but then her gaze moved to someone descending into the view of the driver's side window. "Bob."

Bob jumped, puzzled for a moment before crying out in terror at noticing their visitor. Dottie, who was trying to inch away from the driver's side, looked over to find them closing in on her, too. She screamed and recoiled from this, as well. "Don't worry," Bob said firmly to her. "Everything is gonna be fine. Okay? Just stay calm. Freda says we're gonna be fine." Addressing the growing crowd, he said, "Uh, hi, my name's Bob. This is my wife Dottie. Great night for a gathering, huh?"

"Leave them alone," Frederick said, pulling one of the vampires off of their car. "They're friends."

"What?" one asked.

"Since when have they been friends?" asked another. Frederick and Dottie nodded to each other, and Dottie exhaled in relief. In spite of the oddness of the situation, she was charmed by being rescued like that.

TLV

Tony opened the door and flipped on a light switch, and Rudolph stopped in the middle of the room to face him. "Where is it?" Rudolph asked.

"Somewhere around here," Tony replied, and he and Rudolph descended on the rug, pulling it aside unceremoniously.

"How do you know?"

"How do I know? I have visions, dude." Tony handed Rudolph a poker from the rack near the fireplace.

"No need to bite my head off."

"Biting is your job," Tony said as he and Rudolph pulled up the first board. "Mine's to find the amulet."

"_We_'ve got to find it." They rifled through the straw underneath for several moments before Rudolph pried up another board, starting the process over.

Rookery's truck lights filtered through the window, stinging Rudolph's eyes. "Rookery," Tony cried out. Rudolph pried up another board, his wordless urge to keep searching. If Elizabeth McAshton could hide the stone before the hunters could get to it, then certainly he and Tony could do the same thing in reverse.

A heavy thud sounded against the front door, again and again. The boys looked up, then Tony closed the door and Rudolph pushed the wardrobe in place against it while Tony went back to searching. "I'm coming," Rookery sang from below. The boys picked up the pace, listening all the while to Rookery's progress through the house until finally he reached the door. He checked it and then laughed. "Oh, boys, you've locked the door." Then he started battering this one down, too.

Tony pulled a small bundle out of the straw and wiped it clean. "I found it," he cheered, and he unfolded the cloth.

"The Stone of Attamon," Rudolph replied. They shared a smile in their triumph before Rookery kicked his way through the wardrobe and charged into the room, shining his neon cross in Rudolph's direction until the vampire was safely unable to intervene.

"Hand it over," he demanded, holding his hand out to Tony.

"It belongs to my friends," Tony replied.

Rookery laughed. "It belongs to me, now. Give."

"Not without a fight."

"Oh. Well, I can't be bothered." He picked Tony up at the waist, heedless of his struggling, and marched to the window, keeping Rudolph at bay until he reached the balcony. He deployed a small self-inflatable and jumped from the balcony railing.

"Tony," Rudolph shouted after them. "Don't give him the stone." Tony was by this point verbally protesting his situation.

Rookery carried him over to the truck and shoved him inside before climbing into the driver's seat himself and taking off.

Rudolph raced to the window and watched them leave, hissing and starting, not for the first time, to believe all hopeless. But wait, he thought, and he took off toward the road he was sure Rookery would take.

TLV

Tony was thankful the cows were taking their sweet time and getting his kidnapper impatient while they were at it. If nothing else, he could at least pass on the stone in his family for three hundred years until the next time the comet came around. Maybe they would develop a faction of vampire-hunter hunters. He didn't know.

But Rookery managed his way around the cows just fine, relatively speaking, and turned his attention back to Tony. "Now, give me that stone."

"No," Tony said defiantly.

"I said give me that stone."

"But my friends need it."

"Oh, boo hoo. I need it, laddie." Rookery finally tore the amulet from Tony's grasp and checked that it was the stone. "To send them straight to Hell."

TLV

Rudolph's plan was working brilliantly, and Tony was doing excellently standing up to Rookery. Now all that was left was the rescue. Hopefully Tony would heed a little mental prompting, but that part would come later. He sent out the first cow.

TLV

Tony put his glasses back on and stared as a cow descended into a hovering position in front of the truck, angled so that it was difficult to go around it. Four others floated down from unseen heights, and they formed the front line. Rookery blinked and stared, not quite sure how to process what he was just seeing, but it was starting to dawn on him. He stopped the truck and studied them for a moment before his eyes drifted to their leader, a young vampire about the age of the boy in the seat next to him. He looked back and forth between the two boys and especially between Tony and that spectacle of vampire cows.

Rudolph smiled and waved to Tony. "Whadda you want?" Rookery asked. "You want this?" He held up the stone and gave it a slight wave. "Well, come and get it." He placed it sharply on the dashboard, put the truck in gear, and charged with a mighty yell. Tony screamed, fearing his fate in all this, and Rudolph gestured for the cows to go forward with a "Yee-haw!" The cows got as close as they dared to the windshield, and the last managed to land his droppings right on the mark. He and Rudolph shared a laugh over this.

Rookery veered off the road, attention divided between his hostage, his messy windshield, and the vampires that had for whatever reason just started fighting back. He crashed through the McAshton sign, but he was able to notice when Tony grabbed the stone and tried to pocket it. "Hey. Hey. No you dont, give it back." Tony slipped a small, cloth-covered package into his hand. Rookery set the package on the windshield without bothering to check first as his truck careened toward whatever fate awaited it.

"Tony, the lights," Rudolph called from above. "Turn off the lights!" Tony reached over and started pushing buttons almost randomly, hoping his first guess was right. One by one, the lights switched off.

"Hey, no, you leave that alone," Rookery growled, struggling with Tony yet again and once more placing his hostage in a vying position for top priority with a million and one other things going on at the same time all around him. Finally he was able to shove the boy back, but the damage had been done.

"Tony!" Rudolph reached through the skylight, and Tony took his hand. Together, they lifted off into the sky.

"Hey!"

"Woo-hoo!" Tony yelled, grinning down at the vampire hunter.

But before Rookery could do much of anything about it, he collided with the cables tethering the McAshton blimp to sweet _Terra Firma_ and then drove off the cliff and into the ocean. "Going, going, gone!" Tony said as this happened. Thanks, dude, Tony thought.

Thank you, Rudolph replied. You didn't do so bad yourself.

Thanks. "Rudolph," he sang, and he held up the Stone of Attamon. In spite of everything, Rudolph couldn't help but gasp in thrilled surprise.

"You've got it!" he said as soon as he found his voice. "Alright!"

"Yeah!" Rudolph mouthed a woo and gave Tony's hand a triumphant shake.

TLV

Rookery reached for the cloth package on his dashboard, still holding out a slim hope that the boy had forgotten something in his brazen escape with the vampires, but when he pulled the object out of its wrappings he could do nothing other than scream in shock and rage. Rookery was holding a dead mouse by the tail.


End file.
